Kazakhstan ready to join 'Silk Road' project

Kazakhstan's announcement that it will participate in the Silk Road Economic Belt project proposed by China will strengthen cooperation between Beijing and Central Asian governments, experts said on Sunday.

Kazakhstan made the announcement on its foreign ministry website on Saturday after Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Sarybayr met Chinese ambassador Le Yucheng.

The project, first raised by President Xi Jinping in September in a speech at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, links East Asia and Europe and covers more than 40 countries in an area containing 3 billion people.

Xi suggested that participating countries enhance communication and green-light regional economic integration in terms of policy and law. The Silk Road boasts a market that is unparalleled both in scale and potential, Xi said, urging all parties to facilitate trade and investment and remove barriers.

The statement from Kazakhstan stressed that Xi's proposal has gained the full support of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The Silk Road was an ancient trade route that was central to cultural interaction throughout the Asian continent, connecting East and West from China to the Mediterranean.

"In history, we know that the Silk Road was a very crucial lifeline not only for trade, commerce and mobility from the East to the West, but also in terms of civilization," said Richard Giragossian, director of a think tank based in Yerevan, Armenia.

Kazakhstan is approaching the project with "the most positive attitude", Kazakh state news agency Khabar quoted the deputy foreign minister as saying.

"The project, which involved the cooperation of China and Kazakhstan in the fields of economics, trade, investment and culture, will bring regional cooperation to a new level," the news agency said.

Giragossian said that a rejuvenated Silk Road will create new pathways and networks, and countries should seize the opportunities.

In addition to Kazakhstan, several countries have expressed a determination to take part in China's Silk Road project.

Kyrgyz Parliament Speaker Asylbek Zheenbekov said Kyrgyzstan was willing to speed up bilateral cooperation and work with China to build the Silk Road economic belt after meeting Xi in September.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said the idea carries great significance and Turkey will cooperate with China to open a new chapter for the legendary Silk Road during a meeting with Liu Qibao, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPC, in October.

Kazakhstan and China are likely to launch a state-level agreement, said Ruslan Izimov, an expert from the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies.

He said the two countries may cooperate in fields such as economy and trade, transportation, and culture and agriculture. The construction of roads, railways and aviation "needs to be enhanced to help create a transport route from western China to Europe via Kazakhstan", Izimov said.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

renqi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/13/2014 page10)